‘Liberal’, ‘feminist’ – these are adjectives that, to most people with a modicum of decency, would be a compliment, and yet every day I see them directed at individuals on the internet as if they are something of which one should be ashamed.

Let’s look at the word ‘liberal’ and consider its meaning according to the gold-standard reference guide for the English language: The Oxford Dictionary. The word derives from the Latin words ‘liberalis’ and ‘liber’, which quite literally translate as ‘free (man). Fast forward some thousand or so years and it is defined as someone who is sympathetic towards individual rights and freedoms, someone who favours individual liberty and social reform and, of course, someone who is open to new ideas, opinions and behaviour.

So, wait a moment – you are calling me a liberal and intending it to be an insult, yet had you given any real consideration to its meaning, you would understand that by doing so you are merely admitting to being a pretty awful human being.

According to the same internationally renowned and respected dictionary, the antonyms of the word liberal are ‘narrow-minded’, ‘bigoted’ and ‘intolerant’ which, just to be clear, are not positive personality attributes. They are actually regarded as some of the most negative traits that a human being can possess, and what makes my mind boggle is how anyone can truly believe that being liberal is worse than being a borderline fascist. 

Now let us look at the word ‘feminist’. The same dictionary states that ‘feminism’ is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of equality of the sexes.” Now, pardon my ignorance, but once again I really must ask: what is wrong with this? Have I fallen asleep and woken up in some bizarre parallel universe where being a good person, tolerating others, demanding equality and respecting the freedom to which we are entitled as living, breathing, individual human beings, is a bad thing?

In my humble (ish) opinion, there is as much need for liberal attitudes and feminism now as there has ever been – both globally and in Malta. Just this week, a prominent local figure referred to a female politician as a ‘prostitute’ and the week before, the PN unnervingly announced that they want to create ‘a model’ to protect unborn children. Considering that abortion is already illegal in this country, punishable by up to three years imprisonment, one has to wonder to what lengths they propose to go in order to protect ‘the unborn’. I have no doubt that this model would include pregnancy tests when entering or leaving Malta, and perhaps even locking pregnant women away until they fulfil their only purpose in life which, according to many pro-lifers, is just to procreate.

There is more need than ever for progressive, liberal and tolerant mindsets in Maltese society. Whilst the current administration claims to be the most feminist government in local history, the fact remains that women are openly denigrated, belittled, dismissed and often abused – online, in the press and in everyday life. There are patent flaws in the way in which the police deal with instances of domestic violence, the attitude that women should just “keep their legs shut” prevails, and the incredible number of racist, sexist, homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic and intolerant comments that pepper the comment sections of Maltese social media is completely and utterly unacceptable.

We have a situation where free speech and the right to protest is hampered on an almost daily basis, where an investigative journalist is violently murdered and where those who call for justice and an end to corruption are attacked, criticised and trolled. People think it is ok to disregard the life of a grown woman, they think it is ok for boatfuls of migrants to drown off our shores and they think it is ok to spew hatred and vitriol at those who have an opposing political view.

As far as I am concerned, the use of the words ‘feminist’ and ‘liberal’ as insults just shows me that a person is openly admitting to being a bigot and a misogynist. Whilst I know many people do not agree with everything I write, and at times the way in which I say things, at least my views and the issues I chose to campaign for and support are ones that support tolerance, freedom, equality and human rights.